Transmission-gearing.



C. W. LEVALLEY.

TRANSMISSION GEARING.

APPLICATION man MAR. 6. i912.

Patented Aug; 24, 1915.

k M Q n I G H M E a w S H 2 w s. 2

C. W. LEVALLEY.

TRANSMISSION GEARING. APPLICATION FILED MAR. e. 1912.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

cnaisrornnn w. LEVALLEY, on MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin.

TRANSMISSION GEARING.

Specification of Letterslatent.

- Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

Application filed March 6, 1912. Serial No. 682,011.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER W. LE-VALLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in thecounty of Milwaukee and State of WVisconsin, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Transmission-Gearing, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to transmission gearing and has for its object toimprove mechanism of this kind in the manner hereinafter pointed out andfor the purpose of producing a gearing positive in operationand sim-.

ple in construction.

I have illustrated my invention in a mechanism adapted to be used fordriving the traction wheels of a motor vehicle in which either wheel mayhave its driving connection with the motor broken or'interruptedwhenever it turns at a speed greater than that which, at the moment, themotor driven partstend to impart thereto.

.In the drawings, Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view of atransmission gearing embodying 'my improvements. Fig. 2 is a transversesectional view taken on the line II-III. of Fig. 1 as viewed from theleft and indicated by the upper arrow. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionalview taken .on the line IL-III of Fig. 1 as viewed from the right, andas indicated by the lower arrow, parts being broken away. Fig. 4 is aplan view of the connecting or clutch mechanism, parts thereof beingbroken away. Fig. 5 is a face view of one of the shaft-connecting clutchmembers. Fig. 6 is an inner end view of one of the supports for thedriving members of theclutch. Fig. 7 is an edge or plan view of the samesupport. Fig. 8 is a plan view of one set of the driving membersdetached. Fig. 9 is an edge view or elevation of the driving membersshown in Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a sectional view, diagrammatic in character,illustrating the operation of the apparatus.

In the drawings, 2, 3, indicate respectively the two sections of adivided driven shaft, which in, the mechanism illustrated is the rearaxle of a motor vehicle. The inner ends their inner ends abutting. Thecontiguous 7 ends of the shafi sections are preferably reduced indiameter, as indicated at 24, and

upon these parts are loosely supported certain elements of the mechanismto be described. To each shaft section there is se-' cured a clutchmember 8 of the driving mechanism comprising a hub 9 keyed to the shaft,a web 10 disposed in a plane perpen dicular to the axis ofrotation ofthe shaft, and a flange l1 concentric with the shaft, which latter,however, may be omitted without departing from the principle of the-in.-Vention, though it is a-desirable feature of construction. The flangesof the shaft-connected clutch members face each other and are situatea'distance apart to receive the drive whee 5 'which is loosely supportedupon the reduced portion of the driven shaft. This drive wheel serves asa closing or face plate for the open ends of the chambersformed by theoverhanging flanges 11 of theshaft-cOnnected clutch members,thusassisting in preventing the entrance of dirt or foreign substancesinto the working parts of the gearing. The drive gear 5 is representedas being a bevel. wheel .meshing Witha bevel pinion 6 upon themotor-connected drive shaft 7, these last described nected clutchmembers 8. Each hub is preferably provided with-a flange or'face plate14 integral with the hub, and of a .size to closely .fit within theflange 11 of the shaftconnected clutch member atthe outer edge thereof,as indicated in Fi 1 and 4.

I will first describe a slngle set of con necting elements between thedrive gear and the shaft connected clutch member 8, as

these elements are substantially duplicates of each other, althou h theymay be diflerently arranged for 'orward or backward driving.

15 represents a stud orpivotlpin projecting radiall from the hub 13.This is conveniently ormed by screwinfga cylindrical stud into ascreW-threaded'aperture formed in the hub, as represented in thedrawings.

Upon this stud is mounted one set of the connecting and driving meansbetween the consists of two parts or elements, and these,

as will be seen, are free to move in planes parallel with the axis ofrevolution of the driven shaft. The driving and connecting meansconsistessentially of two parts disposed at a wide angle to each other,a tail piece 21 that extends outward through an aperture 16 in theflange 14 so as to engage with the drive gear.5, and a dog or head piece22 arranged to engage with the web 10 of the clutch member 8. In thisweb is formed a recess 12 to receive'the working end of the part 22,while in the face of the gear 5 is formed a recess 25 to receive the endof the tail piece 21. The two parts of the connecting and driving meansare preferably both mounted upon' the supporting pin or stud 15 so as tobe free to independently move to a limited extent. The hub portion ofthe tail piece '21 is provided with a projection 23, and the hub partofthedog 22 with a similar projection 23', these two projections beingnormally in engage-' ment and constituting interconnecting mempart 21 ismoved into engagement.

bers between the two parts which insure that they shall move togetherand work as one piece when they are thrown out of operation and intoinactive relation. Back of the dog or head part 22 is a spring 19 whichtends to hold its working end in engagement with the web 10 of theclutch member 8. One end of the spring is seated in a recess or, socket18 formed in the plate 14, the other end bearing against the part 22.

It will be seen from the foregoing descrip# tion and an examination ofthe drawings, that whenever the drive gear turns in a directionindicated by the arrows in Figs. 2 and 4, it will positively engage withthe tail piece 21 and will carry the latter along with it, because it isprevented from rotat-' ing upon its supporting stud by the abutments 17upon the plate 14 with whichTtg e 1s forward movement of the tail pieceis transmitted to the support upon which it is mounted, that is to say,the hub 13 and the plate 14 thereof, and through the dog or head portion22 and the shaft-connected clutch member 8 to the shaft 2 or 3, the dog,pawl, or driving head 22 being held by the spring 19, in workingengagement within the recess 12 in the web of the clutch.

Should the driven shaft be caused, for any 'reason,'to turn at a speedfaster than that being imparted to it by the driving gear the connectionbetween these driving and driven parts will be broken or interrupted. Itwill be observed that one wall or face of the recess 12 is sloping, andwhenever the driven shaft speeds up, as just suggested, this slopingwall of the recess 12 advances serve as a working connection between theing connections work. The gear 5 in its for- -it out of the socket orrecess, compressing the spring 19 in so doing.

While a single set of driving means will driving gear and the drivenshaft, I prefer to employ at least two sets of such devices between thegear 5 and each section of the driven shaft. I also provide means fordriv-. ing in a reverse as well as a forward direction, where the use towhich the invention is put demands, as in gearing for motor ve hicles,and an arrangement of this character is illustrated in the drawings.

In Fig. 10 I illustrate the operation of the apparatus. In such View thedrive gear 5 is supposed to be turning in the direction indicated by thearrow. Three sets of driving means are shown, one for driving the shaftsection 2 in a forward direction, another for'driving it in a reversedirection, and athird for driving the shaft section 3 in a forwarddirection. It is to be understood that means for driving the shaftsection 3 in a reverse direction will be employed, and that each of thesets of devices may be duplicated, but because of limited space forillustration only the three first referred to are shown, they beingsuiiicient to illustrate the manner in which the drivward motionoperates to engage the tail portions 21 of the two forwardly drivingsets of means shown, carrying them and the face plates 14 and hubs ,13by which they are supported forward with it, until the dogs or headportions 22 of the connecting and driving means enter the recesses inthe webs 1-0 and 11 of the clutch members that are se- I cured to theshaft sections, the said head portions 22 being forced outward by thesprings 19. This motion of the drive gear also acts upon the set ofreverse driving mcans,-the inactive one in Fig. 10,-rocking them so thatthe head part 22 thereof entirely disengages the web 10 These parts, itwill be seen, now actas a unit, because of the engagement of the ,twoprojections 23 and 23, the tilting of the tail portion 21 beingpositively communicated to the head portion'22 which is thus carried outof the recess in the web or plate 10 in which it was seated, compressingthe spring 19 in so moving. The parts being in the positions indicatedin Fig. 10 and just described, should one of the ground wheels begin toturn faster than the other,that connected with shaft. section 2, let itbe supposed,the clutch section 8. that is connected with such wheel willmove faster than the drive gear 5, 12.5 the plate 14, and the drivingand connecting means carried thereby. The set of forwardly driving meanswill then have its dog member 22 depressed or forced out of the recessin which it was acting, by the inclined face of such recess, the spring19 being compressed. But when this takes place the'tail piece 21 of theforwardly driving set of devices just referred to does not change itsposition, and hence the parts are in position to immediately begindriving the moment the speed of the drive gear overtakes that of thepart 10. The reverse driv-' ing means do not change their position,which is then that of inaction, when the Wheel overruns, as justdescribed. The inertia of the face plate 14-, its hub 13 and theconnecting and driving devices, and the friction which is developedbetween the plate 14 and the drive gear 5, are such that there ispractically no danger of the parts so shifting-as to bring the reversedriving devices into operation when the wheels overrun as has justbeendescribed. Of course it will be understood that the driving conditionsarei the same as those which have been described when the drive gear 5is reversed, with the exception that the reverse driving devices arethen the active ones and the forwardly driving devices the inactive.

It will be seen'that the driving head 22 of the set of connecting anddriving means interposed between the drive gear 5 and theshaft-connected clutch member -8 is a spring actuated driving pawl; andthat the tail piece 21 is a lifting device for causing the positivedisengagement of the driving pawl when the drive gear is moved in areverse direction,-the word reverse here having reference to theparticular driving pawl under consideration at any moment and not to themechanism as a whole.

W'hat I claim is:' e

1. In a transmission gearing, the combination of a driven member, adrive gear loosely supported relative to the driven member, a clutchmember secured to the driven memher, a hub loosely mounted relative bothto the drive gear and the driven member so as to be free to turn aboutthe axis of revolution of the driven member, the hub carry ing aradially disposed stud, a face plate carried by the hub, connecting anddriving means mounted upon the said stud and comprising a tail pieceextending through the said face plate and arranged to be engaged by thedrive gear, and a head piece arranged to engage with the said drivenclutch incinber, and a spring acting upon the said head piece andtending to hold it in engagement with the said clutch member, the saidcon: necting and driving parts beingso arranged that when the drive gearturns in'one direcnation of a driven member, a drive gear looselysupported relative thereto, a clutch member secured to the driven memberso as to turn therewith, a support loosely mounted relative to both thedrive gear and the driven member, a spring actuated driving pawlarranged to engage with the said driven clutch member, and means engagedby the drive gear arranged to carry the said driving pawl forward whenthe gear turns in one direction, the said means and the driving pawlbeing mounted upon a common pivotal support and being arranged so as toturn together, when the drive gear is moved in a reverse direction, inorder to move the driving pawl into. inoperative position.

3. In a transmission gearing, the combination of a driven member, adrive gear loosely supported relative thereto, a clutch member. securedto the driven member so as to turn therewith, a support loosely mountedrelative to both thedrive gear and the driven member, and connecting anddriving means between the drive gear and the said driven clutch memberhaving one part engaged by the drive gear and another part, in the formof a spring actuated driving pawl, adapted to engage with the saidclutch member, the said two parts of the driving and connecting a, m:tau

means being carried by the aforesaid sup-.

port on a common 'pivot about which they are arranged to turn as onewhen the drive gear is reversed.

4:. In a transmission gearing, the combination of a driven shaftcarrying a clutch member, a drive gear concentric with and looselysupported relative to the said shaft, a hub loosely supported upon theshaft between the drive gear and the clutch mem ber, provided with astud radially disposed relatively to the shaft, and a two-part drivingconnection between the drive gear and the said driven clutch member,pivotally supported upon the said stud, one part being arranged to beengaged by the drive gear and the other part being arranged to engagewith the said clutch member, the said parts of the driving connectionacting together to communicate motion from said gear to the driven shaftand when the drive gear.

turns in the other direction to move out of working connection, and oneof the parts being in the form of a spring actuated pawl to permit thedriven shaft to freely turn at a speed greater than that ofthe drivegear but not at a slower speed.

5. In a transmission gearing, the combina tion of a driven shaft, aclutch member secured thereto having a web and an overhanging fiange, adrive gear loosely supported upon the said shaft close to the edge ofthe flange of the clutch, a hub loosely mounted upon the shaft withinthe flange of the clutch and provided with a radially disposed stud, atwo-part driving connection I between the drive gear and the said drivenclutch member, pivoted upon the said stud, one part being in workingengagement with the drive gear and the other part adapted to engage withthe said clutch, the parts of the driving connection interconnecting sothat they act as one piece to transmit motion from the drive gear whenit moves in one direction and one part being in the form of aspring-controlled spring actuated pawl permitting the driven shaft tofreely run at a speed greater than that of the drive gear but not at aless speed, and the driving con-.

nection'being arranged to connect the driving and the driven parts whenthecformer turns in one direction but not when it turns in the oppositedirection, 1

6. In a transmission gearing, the combination of a driven shaft, aclutch carried thereby having a web and an inturned flange, a drive gearloosely supported on the shaft adjacent to the clutch, a hublooselymounted on the shaft within the flange of the clutch and providedwith a radially disposed stud and a flange closing the space inclosed bythe flange of the clutch, a tail piece pivoted on the said stud andextending outward and engaging with the said drive gear, and a pawl alsopivoted on the said stud and arranged to engage with the saidshaft-connected clutch member, and a spring for holding the pawl inworking engagement with the clutch member, allowing it to bedisconnected therefrom when the driven shaft turns faster than the drivegear, the said tail piece and pawl being interconnected so that theymove as one under the action of the drive gear when it is turned in onedirection.

7. In a transmission gearing, the combination of a two-part driven shafteach part carrying a clutch member, a drive gear mounted between thesaid clutch members and supported so as to turn freely relativelythereto, supports loosely mounted relatively to both the drive gear andthe driven shaft sections, and sets of connecting and driving meanscarriedby the said supports on fulcrums radial to the axis of the drivenshaft, each set of connecting and driving means having one part engagedby thedrive gear and anotherpart adapted to engage with the clutchmember when the drive gear turns inonedirection and to free itself fromdriving connection when it turns in the opposite directlon, the partsthat engage with the driving clutch members being in the form of springactuated driving pawls.

CHRISTOPHER W. LEVALLEY.

Witnesses: I

JOHN S. BARKER, G120. B. Pins;

